ALFRED Fuel Element Hexagonal Wrapper Conceptual Design

The aim of the work presented in this report is to understand and analyze the issue of differential deformation of the wrapper of a fuel assembly, so as to predict its bending anticipated at end of life. Despite the simplifications adopted for this ab-initio investigation (i.e., free deformations of the assemblies), the results provide relevant information to orient the design of the ALFRED core restraint system. At the same time, the tool developed to implement the used methodology sets the basis for the development of a more complex analysis tool able to assess the collective behavior of the core under the hypothesis of the mutual interaction between the assemblies.